Avoiding Spyware, Viruses and Malware in general

For those that surf the net daily, spyware, viruses malware in general are an extreme annoyance at best and a plague that can steal your identity and cripple your computer at worst. The general conception among most non-tech people is that pornographic websites or websites that host hacked software (known as warez in some circles) are the only places spyware and viruses live. Today, however, this has changed significantly. Spyware developers have become more sophisticated in their delivery and acquiring methods. Well planned and hidden attempts through masked email messages (known as phishing) are becoming more prevalent. Domain spoofing, where a a domain name very similar to a legitimate business site is created (such as paypa1.com vs paypal.com) is on the rise. Domain redirection via surreptitious URLs is also common place today. With the increasing level of sophistication of these malwares, how does one avoid them, or at the very least protect themselves from potential loss?

The answer is pretty simple, yet most people ignore the easy and free ways to avoid spyware and viruses. The Firefox web browser available at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ has security options that warn a user if a website tries to install software on the user's computer, or if the website is a suspected forgery. These options will help you avoid the majority of harmful websites out there. You can set the level of protection by going to the Tools menu, then Options, then select Security. Firefox even maintains and updates a list of known and suspected forged websites. Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 has similar functionality.

So, not cruising bad sites and using a safe web browser like Firefox which will help you detect and avoid bad websites, but what else can you do? Don't click on anything! Always be leery of popups and strange dialog boxes asking you to do something. Never click in them. The best option is to find the tab in the task bar which belongs to that popup or window, right-click on it, and select close. This makes sure that you don't accidentally click on something that agrees to let it install software on your computer. Spyware writers are notorious for making windows that have an 'X' in the upper right hand corner, just like a real window, when in fact that 'X' is inside the window portion that allows the application to install itself. Just don't click it! If you find yourself in a bad situation and don't know what to do, just restart the computer without clicking on any windows. This is the safest bet.

Lastly, get a good anti-virus suite. There are many out there like Symantec's Norton line and Trend Micro's PC-cilin, but I recommend the free version of Avast! Anti-virus. It is called Avast! 4 Home and is available for free from the Avast! website at http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html Avast! anti-virus suite has all of the regular features of most paid-for packaged such as real-time virus scanning, email scan, IM and P2P protection, Network and Web shields and automatic updates. It also spots potential spyware and warns you before it's too late. It is a great product at a great price - free!

Hopefully these tips help you avoid getting spyware, viruses or any other malware on your computer. Another way to avoid all of this is to install and run Linux as your operating system instead of windows. Mac computers are also less susceptible to these types of issues. Remember also that Microsoft has tied Internet Explorer into the operating system very intimately, so any attack on it can easily put your entire operating system at risk. Using a more secure web browser like Firefox will save you many headaches in the future, and it is free as well. If you have any other tips or questions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

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